Lemon Desserts:The Ultimate Guide • tips, tricks & recipes! (2024)

Lemon is a specialty of the house here in the Great Island kitchen. I’ve been developing lemon desserts for decades and I’ve got so many delicious recipes that showcase the uniquely delicious flavor profile of of everybody’s favorite tart fruit.

I’ve come up with special tips and techniques ~ like my ultra special lemon sugar! ~ for infusing as much lemony goodness as possible into cakes, cookies, pies, tarts, quick breads, and more. I’ve collected all my useful info here (along with lots of lemony recipes) in one convenient spot, so if you love lemon, start here, with everything you need to know about making the lemoniest lemon desserts.

Types of lemons for lemon desserts

Common supermarket lemons

Over 90% of US-grown lemons are cultivated in California, mostly in the coastal counties of Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and San Diego. Here are the 2 types lemons you’ll usually find in your supermarket:

• Lisbon lemon:This is themost commonlemon found in stores,making up almost70% of all California lemon production.It’s known for its bright yellow peel,juicy interior,and tart,acidic flavor.

• Eureka lemon:This variety makes up another20% of California’s lemon crop.It’s similar to the Lisbon lemon but has a slightly thicker rindand slightly less juice.

Special Meyer lemons

Meyers are the wonderful hybrid believed to be a cross between a citron and a mandarin/pomelo hybrid.

• Meyer lemon:A sweeter,less acidic lemon with a thinner rind,it’s bright yellow outside, with a darker inside trending toward orange. Meyers are a great choice for using in whole lemon recipes like my Lemon Olive Oil Cake or Whole Meyer Lemon Bars because the rind is not as bitter.

Lemon Cookies and Shortbread Recipes

Lemon cookies are wonderful to bake at home because they aren’t very common commercially. If you crave a bright citrusy cookie your best bet is to preheat your oven and choose one of the delicious lemon cookies below.

1. Cookies by nature are low moisture, so we don’t normally use lemon juice in these recipes.
2. It’s all about the zest! The primary driver of lemon flavor lies in the volatile essential oils concentrated in the outer colored layer of the lemon peel. These oils contain numerous compounds like limonene, responsible for the citrusy scent and flavor we all know and love.
3. Any time you use lemon zest in a lemon dessert remember to wash and dry your lemon first.

• Lemon Cookies
• Lemon Shortbread
• Lemon Snowball Cookies
• Paste di Mandorla ~ Sicilian Almond Paste Cookies

Lemon Cakes

My favorite lemon desserts? That’s easy, they’ve got to be cakes. When we bake lemon cakes we can utilize both the juice and the zest for a full bodied lemon flavor. I like to double down on lemon flavor in the cake and in the frosting.

1. When using both lemon juice and zest, always remember to zest your lemons first, before juicing!
2. Plan to zest your lemons shortly before baking in a lemon dessert. Lemon zest will dry out quickly.

• Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Poppy Seed Frosting
• Raspberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream
• Lemon Olive Oil Cake
• Lemon Chiffon Cake
• Mary Berry’s Lemon Drizzle Cake

Whole Lemons for the Lemoniest Lemon Desserts

The idea comes to us from Italy, where lemons grow everywhere and it is common to bake lemon desserts with whole lemons, peel and all! I love the effect, but some don’t ~ here’s why:

Bitter taste receptors:We all have bitter taste receptors,but our sensitivity to bitter tastes varies quite a bit from person to person. People with more sensitive receptors might find even subtle bitterness like that of lemon peel unpleasant.This sensitivity can bepartially genetic,influenced by variations in the TAS2R38 gene.

1. Make sure to use organic fruit if at all possible when baking with whole lemons. You don’t want pesticide residues in your food.
2. While you are using the whole lemon, you will not use the seeds, which are very bitter. So be sure to take the time to pick them out!
3. Some recipes will have you boil your lemons to help remove some bitterness. But other recipes will have you puree fresh lemons, without boiling.

• Meyer Lemon Cake
• Whole Meyer Lemon Bars

Lemon Pies and Tarts

Lemon pies and tarts are another way we can experience that super intense lemon flavor because, most often, the lemony filling itself is not baked. That fresh vivid flavor really shines through in these lemon desserts.

1. Lemon pies and tarts are often served cold, and this helps to emphasize the refreshing quality of the lemon flavor.

• Lemon Butter Pie
• Lemon Tart with Poppy Seed Shortbread Crust
• Lemon Icebox Pie

Lemon Muffins and Scones

Lemon desserts for breakfast? What could be better than starting your day with the delicious wakeup call of fresh lemon?

1. Lemon combines well with both vanilla and almond extracts, so feel free to experiment with adding a little of either to your lemon recipes.

• Perfect Lemon Muffins
• Easy One Bowl Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
• Perfect Lemon Scones

Lemon Quick Breads

You’ll notice I employ a lemony glaze on all of these quick breads. Glazes help drive home the lemon flavor and provide that tart tang we crave.

1. I make lemon glazes by mixing fresh lemon juice with powdered sugar until I achieve the consistency I’m looking for. There’s no need to dilute your glaze with milk or cream ~ just use lemon juice for the brightest flavor.
2. For thicker glazes use more sugar, and to thin them down, add more lemon juice.

• Buttermilk Lemon Bread
• Lemon Poppy Seed Zucchini Bread
• Lemon glazed raspberry bread

Creamy Lemon Desserts

In these creamy lemon recipes the lemon flavor is more subtle, with more of an emphasis on the mellower aromatic nature of lemon, rather than the sharp tang.

1. Always use fresh lemon juice when you bake with lemon. While bottled lemon juice may seem convenient, you will not get the same fresh flavor from it.

• Lemon Cheesecake Recipe
• Warm Lemon Pudding Cake (gluten free, or not!)

Lemon Bars and Snack Cakes

When you need a quick lemon fix, these simple lemon bakes will serve you well. Double down with a glaze, or go minimal, without.

1. Lemon zest is not only a pretty garnish, it will actually give a boost of bright lemon flavor. I like to use a microplane and zest my lemon directly over my cake, etc.
2. Lemon zest is best when freshly grated, so consider adding it just before serving.

• Triple Lemon Brownies
• Lemon Crunch Cake
• Lemon Velvet Sheet Cake

Lemon Desserts with Lemon Sugar

I developed my lemon sugar technique for infusing lemon rind into sugar to get the absolute most vibrant lemon flavor into my baking. Here’s a quick overview of how to make lemon sugar for baking:

1. Remove the rind from your lemon with a vegetable peeler, in strips. Try to get mostly the yellow rind, and not the bitter white pith.
2. Process the rind with sugar in a food processor until moist and pale yellow.
3. Plan to use your lemon sugar right away; it does not keep well.

• How to Make Lemon Sugar
• Lemon Sugar Crumb Cake
• Blueberry Lemon Cake
• Blueberry Lemon Cake

Lemon Extracts and Flavorings in Lemon Desserts

On occasion my lemon desserts get a little flavor boost from one of these products. They last a long time in your pantry, and a little goes a long way. I recommend a reputable company like Nielsen-Massey. Lemon flavorings aren’t all alike, and I find many of them unpleasant, but a good lemon extract can really make a difference in your lemon desserts.

Lemon extract is useful for boosting lemon flavor. It works along with fresh lemon for a more pronounced flavor. It is strong, so use sparingly. Begin with1/4 teaspoon of extract per 1 cup of liquidin your recipe. Too much can result in a bitter note. Purchase it here.

One of my favorite products, lemon paste is a lemon flavoring with a thicker, more viscous texture and a softer, more complex lemon flavor compared to extract. Purchase it here.

Lemon Dessert Glaze

Lemon Desserts are a house specialty. Get my special tips and techniques for infusing vibrant lemony flavor into cakes, cookies, and more!

Nutrition

Serving: 1 Tbsp · Calories: 59 kcal · Carbohydrates: 15 g · Protein: 0.01 g · Fat: 0.01 g · Saturated Fat: 0.001 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.001 g · Sodium: 0.3 mg · Potassium: 4 mg · Fiber: 0.01 g · Sugar: 15 g · Vitamin A: 0.2 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 0.4 mg · Iron: 0.01 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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